Adherence to safety manuals will address injuries, deaths in power sector – NEMSA

The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), had named Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency, NEMSA as 9th most performing agency scoring 73.8 percent in its 2025 rating. The ranking was anchored on efficiency and transparency in service delivery, adherence to service level agreements, ease of doing business compliance, digital process adoption, complaint resolution and the […]

The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), had named Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency, NEMSA as 9th most performing agency scoring 73.8 percent in its 2025 rating.
The ranking was anchored on efficiency and transparency in service delivery, adherence to service level agreements, ease of doing business compliance, digital process adoption, complaint resolution and the overall public sector engagements.
NEMSA public sector reforms is focusing on electrical safety/competency, certification, training and to NESI regulations, Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, meeting criteria like skill personnel, proper equipment use, competence in electrical installation and metering.
The scores reflect effective implementation of technical standards, improving business confidence and safety in the power sector, ensuring electrical contractors and personnel have requisite credentials with proven experience over a reasonable number of years.
However, the 2025 ranking has drawn significant attention from major players and heads of agencies in the power sector putting pen to paper to equip itself with core mandate values to enhance performance and public business engagements.
Responding to this Presidential rating, the Managing Director of NEMSA, Aliyu Tahir disclosed that its primary focus has been developing and sustaining technical standards as core mandate, and ensuring the safety and competence of staff.
“In June 2025, NEMSA and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) forged a strategic partnership to strengthen Nigeria’s power sector and this collaboration aligns with engineering regulations within the power sector,” he said.
He said in November 2025, the agency launched a new digital inspection platform (Integrated Technical Inspectorate Services Management Solution – ITISEMS) to automate the inspection lifecycle from application to certification.
The MD oversaw the post-deploym++ent training for staff across the country.
“NEMSA forged a new partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) through the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), which announced efforts toward advancing Nigeria’s clean energy future.”
He went on to state that in collaboration with the Rural Electrification Agency REA, there has been state-by-state roundtable engagement with Sokoto State, focusing on “Catalyzing Investment in the Sokoto State Electricity Market” and ensuring safety standards are met for new installations.
The agency introduced nationwide monitoring and inspection, which has intensified monitoring, testing, and inspection of electrical installations across the country, with a focus on ensuring compliance with the Electricity Act 2023.
He highlighted the agency’s unwavering commitment to enforcing safety, technical standards, and regulations in line with its mandate. He outlined the challenges facing the sector, including grid instability caused by the indiscriminate use of 33kV feeders, lengthy enforcement processes, and non-compliance by some DISCOs.
To address these challenges, relevant sector agencies have agreed to collaborate and fast-track enforcement by introducing administrative sanctions to avoid lengthy legal processes where necessary.
Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), saddled with the enforcement of technical standards in the power sector, disclosed that at least eight Distribution Companies (Discos) had so far been audited to ensure strict compliance with safety requirements.
Speaking during an interview with journalists in Abuja, Tukur stated that reported cases of injuries and deaths linked to the power sector could be avoided if industry players adhered strictly to standards set by NEMSA.
After a review of mishaps in the sector, Tukur explained that it was found that a number of the safety manuals and codes operated by the utility companies were outdated, prompting an immediate overhaul.
He stated, “When we did the analysis of all the incidents we’ve investigated so far, we discovered that there are a lot of them that involve the personnel of the utility companies. And when we now drilled down, we discovered that most of the causes were due to lack of adherence to approved procedures, safety requirements in operations and maintenance of these networks.
“So we now had to look at their safety manuals. First of all, we ensured that the utility companies had all safety manuals, where all these procedures and safety requirements are well defined. At the end of that, we now had to carry out audits of these utility companies to ensure that they are implementing the provisions of those safety manuals.

“We’ve audited about eight of them so far.”